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Would you like to make a difference in the life of a young person seeking safety in the UK? Hope for the Young’s Mentors help young people overcome the challenges facing them upon arriving in the UK, including difficulties with their education, a lack of social support, language barriers, and the long period of uncertainty while they are waiting for their immigration status to be decided. We are now recruiting our next cohort of Volunteer Mentors. We aim to establish a diverse pool of Mentors with different ages, cultural backgrounds, skills and interests. Our dedicated Volunteer Mentors spend 1-3 hours a week with a young person, providing tailored support according to their needs for an initial period of six months. Volunteer Mentors support their mentee to: • Improve their English • Make new friends • Feel more confident • Access education • Learn more about London • Join new activities • Access more support • Feel welcomed and part of their community! If you are passionate about helping young people achieve their full potential and believe you have what it takes to be a dedicated Volunteer Mentor for Hope for the Young, we would love to hear from you! You can apply here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/hopefortheyoung/volunteermentorapplicationform
•Ability to work on own initiative and a willingness to carry out a small amount of preparation for each session (Essential) • Ability to think creatively and problem-solve (Essential) • Excellent communication/interpersonal skills (Essential) • Good organisational skills (Essential) • Ability to cope with emotionally demanding and stressful situations (Essential) • Commitment to and ability to work in accordance with all of Hope for the Young’s policies and boundaries (Essential) • Motivated by promoting the wellbeing of vulnerable young people (Essential) • Willing to undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check (DBS) • Experience of working with vulnerable young people, preferably with young refugees and asylum seekers (Desirable) • Experience of working with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures (Desirable) • Experience in teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) or general experience in teaching/tutoring (Desirable)
• An induction and training program suited to the role of mentoring young refugees and asylum seekers. • Regular meetings and support from your Mentoring Programme Coordinator • The opportunity to share experiences with other mentors at volunteer meetings and social events • Valuable experience in developing your mentoring skills with vulnerable young people • The knowledge that you are making a huge and lasting difference to a young person’s life • All reasonable expenses (e.g. travel and refreshments during meetings)
All mentoring relationships last for a minimum of 6 months, where you will be meeting with your mentee on a weekly basis, for 1-3 hours. A small amount of preparation time will also be required. We understand if you need to take a holiday (we all do!) and provided this isn’t more than 3 weeks and you let us know in advance, this would not stop you from becoming a mentor. However, if you were planning to be out of the country for any longer, you’d need to wait until you return to start mentoring. Stability and consistent support is vital to a successful mentoring relationship.
